Myanmar govt aims for legitimacy

Myanmar govt aims for legitimacy

By Aung Shwe Oo and Peter Janssen

YANGON/BANGKOK (DPA): When Myanmar, officially Myanmar, joins the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) today, its notorious military regime is generally seen as getting an important legitimacy boost -- but not much in terms of economic benefits.

No one should down-play the importance of ASEAN in terms of setting the tone for "political correctness" in the region. As of July 23 the association will include nine out of the ten Southeast Asian countries, minus only trouble-torn Cambodia.

ASEAN, which turns 30 this year, currently includes Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and generally represents one of the world's most dynamic economic regions.

Tomorrow the foreign ministers of Laos and Myanmar will join their seven established ASEAN counterparts for their first ministerial meeting as full members, discussing regional security, trade and investment issues.

Myanmar's seat at the illustrious ASEAN table has been hard won. The group's decision to accept Yangon, represented by the military-run State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), was vehemently opposed by the U.S. government, the European Union and most other democratic countries.

ASEAN put its strong economic/diplomatic ties with the United States on the line by announcing its determination to admit Myanmar, despite a decision by President Bill Clinton in April to slap a ban on all new American investments in the country to protest SLORC's poor human rights record.

SLORC has earned itself widespread criticism for refusing to acknowledge the electoral win of then National League for Democracy (NLD) Party, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, at the May, 1990 polls.

ASEAN's tacit support for SLORC has already influenced the way other countries outside the region approach the pariah regime. For example, South African President Nelson Mandela -- another Nobel Peace Prize laureate -- at a recent press conference in Bangkok refused to be drawn into public condemnation of SLORC, and support for fellow freedom fighter Suu Kyi.

"We should not develop independent attitudes because that can bring about chaos," Mandela said. "Whatever contribution we want to make we will make in the region through ASEAN."

ASEAN's stance towards Myanmar's paranoid military regime has been to follow a policy of "constructive engagement" and non- interference in its internal affairs.

This has translated into a good deal of ASEAN investment and trade with the country.

In fiscal 1995-96, ending March 31, Myanmar's total imports from its Southeast Asian neighbors amounted to 4,121 million kyat, or 31 percent of the country's total import bill. Myanmar exports to ASEAN during the same period amounted to 2,103 million kyat, or 42 percent of all exports.

In terms of foreign investment as of May 31, 1997, four ASEAN countries -- Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia -- ranked among Myanmar's top ten investors. Of the 251 approved investment projects involving US$6,070 million ASEAN accounted for 118 and $2,922 million, respectively.

Britain, however, was still the biggest single investor nation in Myanmar with 28 projects worth $1,318 million.

Ironically, Myanmar's heritage as a former British colony has made it better prepared than other new ASEAN members (former French colonies Laos and Cambodia) to join the fold.

"They have the edge on the other two because most of their experts and officials speak fluent English," said one international aid worker who has assisted Myanmar in its preparations to join ASEAN.

Furthermore Myanmar has had years of experience in the international trade community. The country has long been a member of the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and its successor the World Trade Organization (WTO).

While Myanmar has won the ASEAN battle most western observers stress it has yet to win the war in terms of securing the fruits of international legitimacy.

Without the support of the United States and other Western democracies, Myanmar has no hope of receiving much needed international financial assistance from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank, without which SLORC's efforts to bring about economic development will be severely hampered.